


Could You Repeat That?

by burkiebeans



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Deaf Character, Fluff, mentioned carolina hurricanes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-27 21:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10817082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burkiebeans/pseuds/burkiebeans





	Could You Repeat That?

You weren’t born deaf, but sometimes you wish you had been. You missed the sound of your mom's voice over the phone or the humming you heard when your dad washed the dishes. Maybe it would've been a lot easier if you had never heard those sounds in the first place, so you wouldn't feel that huge detachment in your heart that ached every time you saw your family.

Jeff introduced himself in the Starbucks down the street from your college dorm. Much to his dismay, you didn’t even flinch when he said “Hey, I’m Jeff. I see you around here a lot and I wanted to introduce myself.” He looked down and waited for a response, maybe just a small head nod or a wave.

He gave it a few more tries but eventually left you to keep studying your chem book like your life depended on it, which, it actually kinda did. The next time you looked up to take a bite of your muffin, you noticed one of those cute little Starbucks tumblers with a napkin under it. You reached out to read it, but all it said was _-Jeff_ and a number written under it.

Who was Jeff?

And so you texted the mysterious Jeff and now one year later you were happily snuggled up on his couch watching Beauty and the Beast for the upteenth time, not that any of you minded though. Jeff was a sap for Disney movies. You weren’t really paying attention to the movie. More so trying to figure out a way to tell Jeff that you were applying to have surgery to possibly get your hearing back.

It wasn't a hard decision for you to make, really. If it didn’t work, it didn’t work. But you at least wanted the closure that you tried your hardest. Your parents however didn’t fully agree with this. They didn’t want you to get your hopes up all for it to backfire against you. That’s where Jeff came in, you needed his opinion.

You flicked a piece of popcorn at him, which he popped in his mouth. You paused the movie to grab his attention, and he turned to you and signed _whats wrong?_ while saying it as well. You knew he wasn’t the best at signing yet, he had only started learning after he met you, so you decided to suck it up and say it.

“I uh,” you coughed a little getting used to your voice, “I think i'm gonna try to get an implant to help me hear. They're offering it at Duke Raleigh. It may not work though so I wanted your opinion on it?” The ending came out more of a question than the statement you were hoping for.

So you just stared at his face, watching his expression change about fifteen times before he pulled you close and hugged you.

“Yes (y/n), of course I support you 100%” He said, signing the little he could.

\----

The first person you saw out of surgery was your mom who cried when you woke up, the second was your dad. Everything was fuzzy and quiet, but you heard the faint sounds of what you thought must've been your mom running to get the doctor. You felt someone squeeze your hand, and you looked to your right to see your boyfriend sitting next to you smiling his perfect Jeff Skinner smile. The doctor eventually ushered everyone out and went to check a few things. When he took the bandages off your ears, that's when you perked up. Everything was still a little woozy, but you realized you could hear things. The beeping and the shuffles and everything you didn’t know you missed.

The doctor must've notice your burst of awakening and laughed a little. He took his clipboard and scribbled down something before showing you. _I wouldn’t want to ruin the moment, Jeff wants to see you. Want me to bring him in?_

You nodded quickly and smiled when you realized what would be happening. You wanted to hear Jeff's voice first. So, your smile widened when the hockey player that stole your heart walked in followed by a parade of hockey players staying extra quiet behind him. Eddie was holding his phone up, obviously taking a video.

You waved at them, but turned your attention to Jeff.

“(Y/N), I… I love you.” he sounded a mixture of broken and overjoyed, like he’d been waiting a century for this moment.

You couldn’t hold the tears back any longer, and apparently neither could your favorite Finns as they stumbled over each other trying to maintain themselves.

 **“Could you repeat that?”** you choked out.

He smiled and walked closer to you. “I love you so so so much. More than anything ever.”

He leaned in for what would be the best kiss of your life and all the while you finally got to hear what his hockey family was like, all cheers and whistles. You could get used to this, you thought. You could _definitely_ get used to Jeff’s voice, that's for sure.


End file.
